Overview The recent 43-day US government shutdown, spanning from October 1 to November 12, established a new, unprecedented duration. This protracted closure disrupted the typical schedule of macroeconomic data releases, compelling investors to navigate a climate of heightened uncertainty by relying on fragmented private-sector indicators and conflicting statements from the Federal Reserve. The Bureau of […]

Overview Following a relatively quiet August, September brought a surge of volatility and strong directional moves, largely driven by pivotal macroeconomic and monetary policy developments in the United States. The month was action-packed with a constant stream of market-moving data releases and policy actions that collectively shaped the trajectory of the US dollar and other

Overview After a relatively calm period of trading throughout the summer, the beginning of September is showing signs of increasing equity volatility in most of our systems. This is largely expected, as markets tend to pick up in directional volatility after a summer trough. The previous weeks had been marked by ranging markets and medium

The Dollar’s Summer Surge: A Look at July’s Forex Trends Since the beginning of 2025, the global forex markets have been on a roller coaster. Key drivers of this volatility include significant macroeconomic shifts in the United States and the unpredictable nature of global politics. The current US administration’s policies, particularly those directly impacting the

Geopolitical Currents Drive Volatility While May’s foreign exchange markets were largely shaped by U.S. economic headlines, June proved to be a different story. An exceptionally dynamic geopolitical landscape, primarily fueled by the Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict, sent conflicting signals across the markets throughout the month. The month kicked off with whispers of a potential nuclear accord between

When President Trump took office earlier this year, investor sentiment was buoyed by expectations of pro-growth, pro-trade policies—leading to a rally in equities and a strengthening US Dollar. However, those hopes have since been undermined by a wave of protectionist rhetoric and action. In the lead-up to April, markets were rattled by tariff threats targeting

The EUR/USD pair appreciated steadily, reaching a five-month high of 1.09520 with a gain of approximately 5.30% before pulling back. This rally was fueled by expectations of accelerated Eurozone expansion following Germany’s announcement of a €500 billion investment in defense and infrastructure. Meanwhile, weak U.S. economic data and concerns over potential policy shifts contributed to

Notably, the CAD and MXN have come under increased pressure and have exhibited some erratic movements throughout the month. E.g. the USDCAD pair gapped up nearly 2% at the start of the month trading near 1.48 before falling back to 1.42 just days later: As a barometer of market stress, gold showed significant gains, especially

Despite deploying a wide array of strategic approaches, certain subsystems within our portfolio—particularly mean-reversion strategies—have faced challenges. These strategies typically thrive on currency pair retracements, but the persistent, unidirectional strength of the USD has limited these opportunities. Notably, pairs like AUD/USD, NZD/USD, and USD/CAD have experienced prolonged USD dominance with minimal reversals. This market behavior